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How the 2012 All-SEC Team Ranked as High School Recruits

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How did the 2012 All-SEC team rank as high school prospects?

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How the 2012 All-SEC Team Ranked as High School Recruits</p>

The merits of recruiting rankings are debated in every sports bar and around every water cooler in the nation. Athlon continues its look at how each all-conference team ranked as high school recruits with the first-team All-SEC team.

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M (2011)
The Aggies' superstar wasn’t considered a can’t-miss quarterback prospect back in 2011 when he signed with Texas A&M. Other than TAMU, only Oregon, Stanford, Baylor and Iowa State offered him BCS scholarships. The Kerrville (Texas) Tivy product was a three-star quarterback who was ranked as the No. 14-best dual-threat signal caller in the nation and was the No. 45-rated player in the state of Texas. After a year of learning the college game as a redshirt, Manziel proved most everyone in the recruiting business wrong by winning the Heisman Trophy.

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia (2012) AC100
The star freshman tailback wasn’t even the highest-rated running back recruit from North Carolina to sign with Georgia. That honor belonged to Keith Marshall. Gurley, who was no slouch in the recruiting rankings himself, had the better first season in Athens. The Tarboro (N.C.) High four-star prospect was the No. 5-rated player in the state and the No. 11-rated running back in the nation by Athlon Sports. He was the No. 83-rated overall prospect in the Athlon Consensus 100. He sported offers from every major Southern power.

Mike Gillislee, RB, Florida (2009) National Recruit
The Deland (Fla.) High runner was a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. He ranked as the No. 33-best running back in the nation and the No. 257-best overall player in the nation by Athlon Sports. He was No. 236 overall by Rivals and was the No. 42-rated player in the Sunshine State. He held offers from Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, Ole Miss, Mississippi State as well as Florida.

Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt (2010)
The big-play wideout from Madison (Ala.) Academy held offers from just two BCS programs: Kansas and Vanderbilt. Arkansas State and Tulane were his only other FBS offers. Matthews was listed as a three-star receiver by Rivals and didn’t register on the Alabama state rankings or any national rankings.

Cobi Hamilton, WR, Arkansas (2009)
This talented wide receiver played his high school ball in Texas, but as close to Arkansas as possible at Texas High School in Texarkana. He was a three-star prospect whose offer sheet far exceeded his middle-of-the-pack ranking. Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Nebraska, TCU and Kansas State were all after the star wideout. He was the No. 63-rated wide receiver in the nation and the No. 64-rated player in the state of Texas.

Jordan Reed, TE, Florida (2009) National Recruit
How many four-star dual-threat quarterback prospects come out of Connecticut? The answer is one. Reed was the No. 25-rated quarterback prospect in the nation by Athlon Sports and was No. 276 overall regardless of position. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound passer picked the Gators over Oregon, Tennessee, Maryland, Iowa, Duke, UConn and Boston College. Rivals ranked him the No. 2 player in the state behind North Carolina wideout Josh Adams.

Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M (2010) National Recruit
The offensive tackle from Arlington (Texas) High barely missed landing in the AC100. He was the No. 106-rated overall prospect in the nation regardless of position. He was No. 13-rated offensive lineman in the nation and the No. 13-rated prospect in The Lone Star State. His offer sheet was incredible with names like Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska, UCLA, Arkansas and Texas A&M atop his wish list. As a draft eligible potential first-round pick, he now becomes one of Kevin Sumlin’s top recruits once again.

Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M (2010) AC100
Matthews is the fourth member of the Aggies' 2010 offensive line class to land on an all-conference team (Andrew Norwell, James Hurst, Luke Joeckel). He was the No. 3-rated player in the nation at his position and was the No. 33-rated overall player in the country — ahead of all three of the aforementioned blockers. The O-line legacy from Missouri City (Texas) Elkins was the No. 5-rated player in the state of Texas by Athlon. Rivals gave him four stars.

Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama (2009)
This big blocker from Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake picked Alabama over Auburn, South Carolina and Rutgers. Warmack was ranked as the No. 29 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 20 offensive guard in the nation by Rivals.com. He was a three-star recruit.

Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi State (2009)
The three-star recruit from Liberty (Miss.) Amite County held just two offers coming out of high school. Southern Miss was the only other FBS program to offer him a college football scholarship. Rivals ranked Jackson as the No. 91-rated offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 28-rated player in The Magnolia State.

Barrett Jones, C, Alabama (2008) National Recruit
This Memphis (Tenn.) Evangelical Christian stud was the No. 1 prospect in the state of Tennessee (which included Dont’a Hightower), the No. 17 offensive lineman in the nation and the No. 146-rated player nationally regardless of position. He possessed offers from nearly everyone in the southeast but visited only Alabama, Florida and North Carolina. Jones helped Nick Saban sign the nation’s No. 1 class in 2008.

Cordarrelle Patterson, AP, Tennessee (2012) JUCO
The electric athlete was the No. 4-rated junior college prospect in the nation in the Class of 2012. Originally from Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern, Patterson spent a year at North Carolina Tech without playing football. But he made a big name for himself as a two-time NJCAA All-American at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas the next two seasons. His exploits earned him offers from LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Miami and many others, but he ended up in Knoxville.

Sharrif Floyd, DL, Florida (2010) AC100
Few players on the SEC’s first team were ranked as highly as the Philadelphia (Pa.) George Washington product. Floyd was ranked the No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in the nation and was the No. 10 overall player in the nation by Athlon Sports. The AC100 recruit was the top player in the Keystone State. He signed with Florida over major powers like Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Miami, South Carolina and dozens of others. Rivals gave him the elusive fifth star.

Sheldon Richardson, DL, Missouri (2009) AC100
Until Dorial Green-Beckham announced his decision last February, Richardson might have been the most highly touted prospect to ever sign with Mizzou. Athlon Sports ranked the St. Louis (Mo.) Gateway prospect as the No. 8 defensive tackle in the nation and the No. 1 player in the Show Me State. He was the No. 66-rated player in the nation overall in the AC100. Rivals ranked him the highest of any recruiting service giving him five stars as the No. 4-rated player in the nation. Florida, Oklahoma, Miami and many others lost to the Tigers in his recruitment.

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina (2011) AC100
The Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe defensive end was the unanimous No. 1-rated prospect in the nation in the Class of 2011. Obviously, this made him the top player in his state and the top player nationally at his position. He literally could have picked any of the 120 (at the time) programs in the FBS ranks to play his college ball. In two short seasons, he has established that he was ranked exactly where he should have been and appears poised for a Heisman Trophy run in 2013. He also has a good shot at being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Damontre Moore, DL, Texas A&M (2010)
Moore is the only defensive lineman on the 2012 All-SEC team who wasn’t an AC100 or five-star recruit. He was a three-star prospect coming out of Rowlett (Texas) High three years ago. He was the No. 32-rated weakside defensive end and the No. 72-rated player in The Lone Star State by Rivals. He held five offers from his five finalists: Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Kansas.

Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia (2009) AC100
The Columbus (Ga.) Carver product was the No. 6-rated linebacker in the nation and the No. 28 overall player in the nation by Athlon Sports. He was the No. 1 player in the Peach State and signed with USC out of Carver High School. He played the first half of his freshman year before hurting his neck. Complication with the injury eventually led to him transferring back home to Georgia.

C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama (2010) National Recruit
Much like Joeckel, Mosley just missed landing in the AC100 as a linebacker from Theodore (Ala.) High. He was the No. 113 overall prospect in the nation. Mosley finished as the No. 9 linebacker in the nation and the No. 3 player in the state of Alabama. Every program in the Southeast as well as a few from the Big 12 (Oklahoma) and the West Coast (Stanford) wanted to ink the star tackler.

Kevin Minter, LB, LSU (2009) National Recruit
The Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge prospect just missed landing in the AC100 as he was ranked the No. 148 overall player in the nation regardless of position. He was the No. 17-rated linebacker in the country and was the No. 10-rated player in the state by Athlon Sports. Oklahoma State, USC, South Carolina, West Virginia, NC State, Kentucky and Virginia were his finalists. Rivals gave him four stars.

Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State (2009)
Banks committed so early to the Bulldogs — April of his junior year — that no other team was ever really in the mix. The Maben (Miss.) East Webster product knew exactly where he wanted to play and it paid off with an All-American career. He was a three-star prospect by Rivals who ranked him as the No. 63 “athlete” in the nation and the No. 23 player in the Magnolia State.

Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama (2010) AC100
Only two players were ranked ahead of Mosley in the state of Alabama in 2010 and Milliner was one of them. The Millbrook (Ala.) Stanhope Elmore cornerback was the No. 1-rated player in the state and the No. 3-rated defensive back in the nation. He finished as the No. 15-rated overall prospect in the nation by Athlon Sports. His offers sheet included every major program from the Southeast. He was a five-star recruit by Rivals.

Eric Reid, S, LSU (2010) AC100
The star safety was the No. 2-rated player in the state coming out of storied prep program Geismar (La.) Dutchtown. He was the No. 80-rated player in the nation as a member of the 2010 AC100 and was ranked as the ninth-best defensive back in the country by Athlon Sports. He got a four-star ranking from Rivals and picked LSU over Stanford, Tennessee, NC State and Tulane.

Matt Elam, S, Florida (2010) AC100
The hardest hitter in the nation hails from West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer and was a star at an early age. Elam was the top-rated defensive back prospect in the nation and the No. 1 player in the uber-talented Sunshine State. He was ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the entire class. Like most elite talents, he had his pick of any school in the nation. Rivals gave him the rare five-star rating.

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